KASARGOD: At 7 pm every day, Akshay Kumar H, 18, can be seen punching the heavy bag at the Lion’s Boxing Club in Kanhangad, Kerala. He is sweating it out for the 50th Kerala State Amateur Boxing Championship to be held in Kollam from October 11 to 13. Akshay’s confidence stems from his bronze-winning feat at the state championship in Malappuram last December. At 9 pm, when the club closes, the affable pugilist too wraps up. For Akshay, the two hours at the boxing club was the third round of his long day.
The first-round bell rings at 3 am. In half-an-hour, he is at Kanhangad town to pick up the first bundle of newspapers. He is an agent for four dailies and delivers them to 300 houses. “I’ve been doing it since I was in Class VIII,” he said. He was 13-year-old back then. In 2014, Akshay had to leave the national selection camp in Thiruvananthapuram after barely a week because of his daily commitments. “My friends weren’t delivering them at the right address and I started getting relentless phone calls.
“I don’t think I can ever make it to the next level. How will I stay away? I’ve to do my bit to support my family,” he said. The bell for his second round of the day rings at the Nehru Arts and Science College, where he is pursuing B.Sc, Polymer Chemistry. “After college, I often help my father, a daily-wage worker,” he said.
His father Namadeva H, who is a woodcutter, also plucks coconuts for a living. “I help him to gather coconuts and carry logs,” he said. But both the father and mother, Pushpalatha, say they want their children to excel in sports. “My daughter Rajeshwari, 17, too is a boxer. She has won gold at the state sub-junior championships,” said Pushpalatha. Rajan M, who has been coaching the siblings since their school days, says Akshay lacks in height. “But he makes up with his gumption and determination. Now he says he wants to box and win like his sister,” said Rajan.